The transcription factor BATF operates as an essential differentiation checkpoint in early effector CD8+ T cells

The transcription factor BATF is required for interleukin 17 (IL-17)-producing helper T cell (TH17) and follicular helper T cell (TFH) differentiation. Here, we show that BATF also has a fundamental role in regulating effector CD8+ T cell differentiation. BATF-deficient CD8+ T cells show profound defects in effector expansion and undergo proliferative and metabolic catastrophe early after antigen encounter. BATF, together with IRF4 and Jun proteins, binds to and promotes early expression of genes encoding lineage-specific transcription-factors (T-bet and Blimp-1) and cytokine receptors, while paradoxically repressing genes encoding effector molecules (IFN-γ and granzyme B). Thus, BATF amplifies TCR-dependent transcription factor expression and augments inflammatory signal propagation but restrains effector gene expression. This checkpoint prevents irreversible commitment to an effector fate until a critical threshold of downstream transcriptional activity has been achieved

The interferon paradox: can inhibiting an antiviral mechanism advance an HIV cure?

While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved the quality of life and increased the life span of many HIV-infected individuals, this therapeutic strategy has several limitations, including a lack of efficacy in fully restoring immune function and a requirement for life-long treatment. Two studies in this issue of the JCI use a humanized mouse model and demonstrate that type I interferon (IFN) is induced early during HIV infection and that type I IFN–associated gene signatures persist, even during ART. Importantly, blockade of type I IFN improved immune function, reduced the HIV reservoir, and caused a delay in viral rebound after ART interruption. Together, these two studies support further evaluation of IFN blockade as a supplement to ART

Genetic absence of PD-1 promotes accumulation of terminally differentiated exhausted CD8+ T cells

Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) has received considerable attention as a key regulator of CD8+ T cell exhaustion during chronic infection and cancer because blockade of this pathway partially reverses T cell dysfunction. Although the PD-1 pathway is critical in regulating established “exhausted” CD8+ T cells (TEX cells), it is unclear whether PD-1 directly causes T cell exhaustion. We show that PD-1 is not required for the induction of exhaustion in mice with chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection. In fact, some aspects of exhaustion are more severe with genetic deletion of PD-1 from the onset of infection. Increased proliferation between days 8 and 14 postinfection is associated with subsequent decreased CD8+ T cell survival and disruption of a critical proliferative hierarchy necessary to maintain exhausted populations long term. Ultimately, the absence of PD-1 leads to the accumulation of more cytotoxic, but terminally differentiated, CD8+ TEX cells. These results demonstrate that CD8+ T cell exhaustion can occur in the absence of PD-1. They also highlight a novel role for PD-1 in preserving TEX cell populations from overstimulation, excessive proliferation, and terminal differentiation

Bioenergetic Insufficiencies Due to Metabolic Alterations Regulated by the Inhibitory Receptor PD-1 Are an Early Driver of CD8(+) T Cell Exhaustion

Dynamic reprogramming of metabolism is essential for T cell effector function and memory formation. However, the regulation of metabolism in exhausted CD8(+) T (Tex) cells is poorly understood. We found that during the first week of chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection, before severe dysfunction develops, virus-specific CD8(+) T cells were already unable to match the bioenergetics of effector T cells generated during acute infection. Suppression of T cell bioenergetics involved restricted glucose uptake and use, despite persisting mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling and upregulation of many anabolic pathways. PD-1 regulated early glycolytic and mitochondrial alterations and repressed transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α. Improving bioenergetics by overexpression of PGC-1α enhanced function in developing Tex cells. Therapeutic reinvigoration by anti-PD-L1 reprogrammed metabolism in a subset of Tex cells. These data highlight a key metabolic control event early in exhaustion and suggest that manipulating glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism might enhance checkpoint blockade outcomes

A cytotoxic-skewed immune set point predicts low neutralizing antibody levels after Zika virus infection.

Although generating high neutralizing antibody levels is a key component of protective immunity after acute viral infection or vaccination, little is known about why some individuals generate high versus low neutralizing antibody titers. Here, we leverage the high-dimensional single-cell profiling capacity of mass cytometry to characterize the longitudinal cellular immune response to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in viremic blood donors in Puerto Rico. During acute ZIKV infection, we identify widely coordinated responses across innate and adaptive immune cell lineages. High frequencies of multiple activated cell types during acute infection are associated with high titers of ZIKV neutralizing antibodies 6 months post-infection, while stable immune features suggesting a cytotoxic-skewed immune set point are associated with low titers. Our study offers insight into the coordination of immune responses and identifies candidate cellular biomarkers that may offer predictive value in vaccine efficacy trials aimed at inducing high levels of antiviral neutralizing antibodies

In utero priming of highly functional effector T cell responses to human malaria

Malaria remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in infants and children. Some studies have reported that exposure to malaria antigens in utero results in the development of tolerance, which could contribute to poor immunity to malaria in early life. However, the effector T cell response to pathogen-derived antigens encountered in utero, including malaria, has not been well characterized. Here, we assessed the frequency, phenotype, and function of cord blood T cells from Ugandan infants born to mothers with and without placental malaria. We found that infants born to mothers with active placental malaria had elevated frequencies of proliferating effector memory fetal CD4+ T cells and higher frequencies of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that produced inflammatory cytokines. Fetal CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from placental malaria-exposed infants exhibited greater in vitro proliferation to malaria antigens. Malaria-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation correlated with prospective protection from malaria during childhood. These data demonstrate that placental malaria is associated with the generation of proinflammatory malaria-responsive fetal T cells. These findings add to our current understanding of fetal immunity and indicate that a functional and protective pathogen-specific T cell response can be generated in utero